


The Concept of Zero

by stargatefan_archivist



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Episode: s04e14 The Serpent's Venom, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-06-08
Updated: 2008-06-08
Packaged: 2018-12-17 17:06:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11855955
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stargatefan_archivist/pseuds/stargatefan_archivist
Summary: Sam and Daniel discuss math





	The Concept of Zero

**Author's Note:**

> Note from Yuma, the archivist: this work was originally archived at [Stargatefan.com](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Stargatefan.com). To preserve the archive, we began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project in 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [StargateFan Archive Collection profile](http://archiveofourown.org/collections/StargateFan_Archive_Collection).

The lights in Major Sam Carter’s lab were dimmed, except for a work light on the central table. Her current project, a rather astonishing piece of reverse engineering, was pushed to the side; physics making way for an open pizza box. Daniel Jackson, the SGC's premier archeologist and linguist, reached for one of the three pieces of pizza that were left - pepperoni with green pepper and black olives. His favorite.

“Well that mission could have gone better! No war between Heru’ur and Apophis. No weakening of their forces. All we did was make Apophis stronger.” He glanced up at Sam, his blue eyes tense with worry. 

“At least we were there to make contact with Teal’c and Rak’nor. I hate to think what might have happened otherwise.” Sam was making a neat pile of olives on the edge of her paper plate. She kept a few amenities like the plates, in her lab for just this sort of occasion. 

Daniel collected some of her olives and carefully arranged them on his pizza. “That’s one good thing anyway. And it’s hard to imagine that Heru’ur being dead will be a bad thing in the long run.” He looked at her over the top of his glasses. “I thought you _wanted_ the olives on here?” 

Sam smiled and leaned over to poke him in the shoulder. “I wanted _you_ to have olives on here. I know how much you like them and I don’t mind picking them off.” 

He returned the smile and pushed his wayward glasses back into place. “You’re a good friend, Sam. Next time it’s Hawaiian - without a single olive, green or black!” Daniel scooped up the rest of them.

“I’ll hold you to that, Daniel! As soon as Teal’c is out of the infirmary. You know how much he enjoys ‘the indigenous tropical fruits of the Tauri.’ And pineapple is one of his favorites.” She was silent for a moment. “I wish Janet would let us stay with him. He’s in really rough shape. If Rak’nor hadn’t helped Teal’c escape, we would have lost him. I know Janet’s worried about him.” She shared the concern, even knowing how resilient the Jaffa had proved to be.

“At least she let Jack stay; he might talk to Jack. They have that ‘two warriors’ thing. They understand each other at an essential level; the same way that we understand each other’s need to seek out answers, even those without obvious application.” He ran a hand through his hair, the worry returning to his face. “I think she’s right to be alarmed. It’s not just going to be about healing his body and the damage was _significant_. Being captured and tortured… I know I’d…” He cleared his throat and dropped his gaze. “So, what’s with the indigenous Tauri fruit thing, anyway? Is any of our produce  not indigenous?”

Sam had been listening to Daniel with solicitude but, at this, she stopped mid-bite and looked at him, an expression of astonishment on her face. “Oh, wow. I never really thought about the implications of that! I suppose Ra might have brought plants with him, but we’ve never seen any evidence… That’s just… wow!” 

They pondered that for a moment and then returned their attention to their supper; Sam contemplated some of the more unique agricultural products of the planet, while Daniel’s attention returned to their recent mission.

“The word ‘zero’ is derived from the Arabic _sifr_. ‘Cipher’ is too. “

Sam flicked an olive at him. “Non sequitur, much?” 

The olive bounced off his chest, to which he raised an eyebrow and tilted his head in a manner fully worthy of Teal’c. He continued as though fruit had not been deployed, adjusting his glasses with one hand while gesturing with his pizza crust. “I was just thinking about it. _Zero_. I should have thought that the translation might start from there. I mean, it makes sense that you couldn’t do the math that it takes to build a mine without the modern use of zero - without it representing the concept of ‘nothing’, or an algebraic component, as opposed to the historical use of zero as a placeholder – if it even existed as that. I shouldn’t have assumed that because the script resembled Phoenician, it shared common numerical practices.” He used his crust to emphasize the most salient points, swiveling on his stool to face her as she retrieved the olive. Sam had found herself bothered by the sight of it on the floor of her lab. She noticed that spontaneity often lead to very non-spontaneous tidying.

“The SGC didn’t hire you for your math skills, Daniel. Besides, it was a natural assumption, in a way.” She returned to her stool and took another slice. “How often do you start counting from zero in daily life?” Daniel picked up the last of the pizza and they began a friendly ‘give and take’ of olives.

“Speedometer.”

“Okay, that…”

“Thermometer.”

“Something where ‘meter’ isn’t the last part.”

“A ruler.”

“That’s true, but…”

Daniel interrupted, a smile on his face, “Sam, let’s face it, I have the math skills of a pre-dynastic Egyptian farmer.” “If I can’t count it on my fingers and toes, it must not exist.” He wiggled his fingers demonstratively.

She laughed out loud. “At least we’ve recognized that! That’s the first step. I’ll be sure to keep an eye on your calculations from now on.”

“And we will all be grateful for it.” He picked up a stray olive and returned it to his slice.

“Dogs can count.” Sam spoke around her last bite of pizza and discarded the crust on her plate.

“Who’s making mental leaps now? And are you saying that my math skills are inferior to the inhabitants of a kennel?”   
“I don’t think that they understand the concept of zero, either.” Daniel looked less than impressed at this, but Sam continued, “Suppose you give a dog ten treats at the same time every day. Then give it, say, seven; it will know some are missing and want the rest.” 

“I _can_ do that.” He finished his slice, looked at the now empty pizza box and gave it a tap, raising an eyebrow at Sam. “Zero pizza. The absence of pizza. One pizza minus all the slices equals zero. There, I just leapt into the 12th century.”

“Well done! You _are_ a genius. Of languages, anyway.” She pushed her stool back and stood. ”Come on, Doctor Jackson. Let’s go sit in the hallway outside the infirmary. They can’t stop us from waiting there.” She picked up the second pizza that they’d gotten for the Colonel – no olives – and carried it out of the lab.

Daniel reached over to grab the leftover crust from Sam’s plate and followed her from the room. _Zero_ leaving Teal’c alone… Not until they knew he was going to be okay.


End file.
